''The legend of their history, which they
carefully preserve, is this. A great many years ago, these mountains were
settled by a society of Portuguese Adventurers, men and women--who came from the
long-shore parts of Virginia, that they might be freed from the restraints and
drawbacks imposed on them by any form of government. These people made
themselves friendly with the Indians.These intermixed with
the Indians, and subsequently their descendants (after the advances of the
whites into this part of the state) with the negros and the whites, thus forming
the present race of Melungens.''

The records below
will show that George Gibson, Thomas Gibson, Thomas
Chivers/Chavis, 'Peter' Gibson, Thomas Busby, Robert Sweat and Adam Ivey are all found on
Chippoakes Creek.

Indians on the Upper Chippokes Creek:

John Utie, Jr. born about 1619 London.
He was baptized in St. Andrew's Holborn Parish. He repatented his fathers 1250
acres in 1638. In 1639 he
assigned 100 acres of land to Thomas
Gibson, land which Utie
acquired in 1624 and named "Utopia" located at
the head of Chippoakes Creek. York Co. VA records show John Utie, Jr. was
deceased by 1647

William Knott,
312 Acres, Surry Co 28 Mar 1666, p. 482 (land patents). 112 acres on south side
of James River on south side of Upper Chipoake Creek,
bounded NW on land of Edward Oliver, N upon Wm. Thomas, E on George
Gibson & SE on Mr. Fisher; 200 acres on south side of said River,
Wly. on Jeremiah Clements, NW on Edward Oliver, Nly on Wm. Thomas, George Gibson
& Edward Minter, Ely. on Wm. Gapins land & Mr. Thomas
Busbie and SE on Mr. Richard Hill

<>The Quiyoughcohannock
were one of the first Virginia Indian groups the English encountered in 1607
after landing at Jamestown. Situated primarily in present-day Surry County,
the Quiyoughcohannocks had
four villages in the region likely easy of Upper Chippokes Creek. The
Quiyoughcohannocks in 1608/09 escorted Nathaniel Powell and Anas Todkill
southward in an unsuccessful attempt to locate survivors of the Roanoke
Colony. The English observed a part of a ritual initiation into manhood, the
huskanaw, at a Quiyoughcohannock village in 1608.

Claremont Manor is in Surry County, Virginia, on the south
shore of James River at its confluence with Upper Chippokes Creek. It was in
the area occupied by the Quiyoughcohannock Indians when George Harrison
received a grant of land there is 1621.

Southwark Parish was created in 1647 and described as
encompassing all the territory extending from "the colledge" [College Creek] to
(and including) the Upper Chipoaks [Upper Chippokes Creek

A List of ye
Tythables from ye Colledge to Smiths forte taken ye 10th of June 1668
byMr. Thos. Warren:

Tho. Hurle Joh. Shipp Tho Gibson & 1
negro, 04Edmond
Howel
l
01

Elizabeth Chavis on 28
March 1672 made a successful petition to the General Court of Virginia
to release her son, Gibson Gibson, who had been unlawfully bound by
Berr. Mercer to Thomas Barber who had gone to England leaving the boy with
Samuel Austin [McIlwaine, Minutes of the Council, 302-3]. 1676 List of the Names and some of
the Residences of the Rebel Participants in Bacon's Rebellion of 1676 in Colonial Virginia [Bacon's Castle -
home of Arthur Allen - Claremont]

Edmund Howell -- 23 Dec. 1679
To my only son, William Howell my whole estate with some exceptions.
to my godson Gibson, son of
ThomasGibson To godson Henry Baker.
Makes George Foster Exec. and gives him the care of son until he is 21 years
old, If son die, his inheritance to Henry Baker, GeorgeFoster Thomas Ironmonger
his children.Wit: Thos Pittan, Sr., John Moring. Prob. 9 Oct.
1679.(2:240)

Here Lyes the Body of FRANCIS
GIBSONHere Lyes the Body of GIBBY GIBSONHere
Lyes the Body of THOMAS GIBSON

Will of Gibby Gibson of Charles
City Co. , "very weak'.

My riding horse to be sold to pay Col.
Lightfoot.To Hannah Dennam, my negro boy Jack, for life, and then
to my son Gibby Gibson.To wife Francis: my negro girl Vicky, for life, and
then to my daughter Fran: Smith ( Francis would
later marry and move from Bertie County with second husband William Chavis and
is found on the lands of William Eaton - Saponi? in 1754] To my son in law
George Smith, 2 negroes - Sovilaty and Jin.To Hannah Dennam, my
negro boy Peter for life and then to my daughter Fran SmithTo my son Edward
Gibson, my negro Judey, my wearing clothes, carpenters tools, and coopers
toolsTo
George Smith, 2 sheets, 2 blankets and a ruggTo Tabitha Rollinson,
negro girl Nanny. [ Also moved to the lands of
William Eaton from Bertie County]George Smith to take
care of my cattle and they are to be divided equally between my wife and
granddaughter Sarah Smith.To wife my two working Horses and hoggs.Rest of my estate to
George Smith and he to be executor , Dated 2 March 1726/7Witt: Benja. Moody,
Robert Cade,(*) James BlankesSigned: Gibby(G) GibsonCodicil: Negro boy Peter given in will to Hannah
Dennam and then to Frances Smith, is to go to my son George Gibson3 March 1726/27 Wit:
by above Moody and CadeRecorded 3 May 1727 Presented by George Smith and
proved by above Blanks and Cade. Col. Fran's Lightfoot,
Security.

November 1741 the court
presented George Gibson and George Gibson, Jr., for not going to church.
In July 1745 Phillis Goeing (Gowen) petitioned
him concerning her children, but he failed to answer the petition so the court
ordered the churchwardens to bind them out. (It is likely this George Gibson
Sr., is the son of Gibby Gibson who left the 1727 will in Charles City
County.

(*)

Robert Cade was the witness on will
of Gibby Gibson 1727 in Charles City County, Virginia. This is likely
Robert Cade who married Susannah Crump, son Stephen Crump Cade born September
17, 1715 St Peters Parish, New Kent County, Virginia. Stephen Crump Cade
resided in lived in Edgecombe, Dobbs, and was Sheriff of Johnston Co. in
1757, married to Mary Wadill and Mary Gibson and died in Robeson Co.,
North Carolina in 1783. His son John Cade married to Elizabeth Adair,
daughter of the Indian trader and author Doctor James Adair of Robeson County,
North Carolina. Elizabeth's sister, Agnes married to John Gibson who is
said to have been killed by Indians near Nashville in 1790.

15 Sep
1769 James IVEY of Bladen Co to James Adair, doctor, 200 acres in the
fork of the Little Pedee River, on the east side of Mitchells Creek being land
granted to Jordan Gibson on 1 July 1758, conveyed to John Wootan on 25
September 1761 then to Ben Davis on 16 July 1762 then to James Ivey on 26 July
1766. (See Ivey below)

The Gibsons of Louisa County, later called
Melungeons, and the Gibsons of Pee Dee share a common ancestor proven by
DNA match.

CHAVIS

Thomas Chivers was appointed to a jury of
twelve men in Isle of Wight County on 28 July 1658 to determine whether 900
acres belonged to Major Nicholas Hill or to John Snollock [VMHB V:406]. He
purchased 1,100 acres of land at the head of Sunken Marsh near Chipoakes
Creek in Surry County, Virginia, on 20 May 1659 for two cows, payment of
4,000 pounds of tobacco in October that year, and payment of 4,000 pounds of
tobacco in October 1660. He died sometime before 13 April 1664 when his daughter
Elizabeth was bound out until she came of age [DW 1:151; Haun, Surry County
Court Records, I:149; II:232].

Thomas Chevers
purchased 1,100 acres of land at the head of Sunken Marsh near Chippoakes in
Surry Co. Virginia - 1659

Adam Ivey was a small-scale tenant
farmer, almost certainly growing tobacco. Fifty acres was a small landholding,
but a single field worker was capable of managing only three or four acres of
tobacco in those days. Fifty acres was a typical holding for a planter with only
himself to work the fields.[5] His location can be approximated, since nearly
all the persons mentioned in these records lived south of the James River in the
neck of land bounded by Upper Chippoakes Creek and Wards Creek. This neck
included what was later the parish of Martins Brandon, in which Adam Ivey
apparently lived at his death, in what would later become Prince George County.
It was quite close to Surry County, Upper Chippoakes Creek being the later
boundary between Prince George and Surry.

The DNA evidence shows that the Ivys, Iveys
and Ivies are related to the Busbices/Busbys/Buzbees in the male line. The Ivy
male line's "Busby" DNA could have resulted from an Ivy adoption of a male
Buzbee, or a Busby male could have been the father of a male Ivy.
Ivey and
Busby

“After seeing the latest
Y-DNA results, it appears that it's highly probable that the Benjamin Busby
line and one of the Ivey/Ivie/Ivy lines are entangled, most likely in very
early Colonial Virginia. One of the Busby/Busbice/Buzbee male descendants is
matching 66/67 markers with what we believe to be the Adam Ivie line of
Charles City/Prince George Co, VA" - Jerry Ivey - Here

Thomas Busby
(born about 1674) was an “Indyan boy” servant to Mr. Robert
Caufield of Surry Co. VA in July of 1684 when his age was adjudged at
10 years (Haun, Surry County Records 1682-91, 444) - This Thomas Busby
is likely named after Thomas Busby the interpreter for the crown mentioned
in records of George Gibson in 1666. Could this Thomas Busby "Indyan boy" be
the Ivey DNA match?

Surry
County - 5 Mar 1688/89 Book 4 p108 Robert Caufield 680a
where I lately lived and known as Sunken Marsh. ( Thomas Chavis land was also
on Sunken Marsh -see above)

Will of Capt. Robert Caufield, of Lawne's Creek
parish, Surry county: Names niece Elizabeth, wife of William Holt, niece Mary,
wife of James Bruton, nephew John Seward; legacy to Mary, dau. of Charles
Williams; to Mrs. Mary Holt 15L Page 311. sterl.; legacies to Frances, dau. of
Francis Mason, Elizabeth, dau. of Arthur Allen, to Katherine and James, children
of Arthur Allen, (Arthur Allen was owner of Bacon's Castle) to Mrs. Elizabeth
Holt, Wm. Hancocke and his wife, to Samuel Newton andJohn
Collins, wife Elizabeth. Dated Jan. 2, 1691; proved Jan. 19, 1691.
[Capt. Robert Caufield was son of
William Caufield, of the parish of Chippoakes, Surry county, and Doreas, his
wife.

22 Jul 1743 Jno. Collins enters
200 acres in Craven County on south side of Contentnea Creek bordering Thomas
Ivi’s line and runs up the creek… [North Carolina Land Entries 1735-1752, A. B.
Pruitt, p44]

This may refer to the land granted to Thomas Ivey the
following year. Thus, this may be the first sighting of the Thomas Ivey who was
in Bladen County later this year. The name on the warrant at the Archives is
very difficult to read and may be “Ive” or “Ivi” or “Ives” or something else
entirely.

1 Dec 1744
Grant: Thomas Ivey, 300 acres in Craven County on the south side Great
Contentnea Creek on the Mirey branch. [Colony of NC 1735-1764 Abstracts of Land
Patents, Margaret M. Hofman, Vol. 1, p11, Grant #2721]

Leift. Robert Sheppard due
650 acres of land in James City Co., 26 July 16 38, for transporting 13 persons
... the list includes Robert Swett. The land granted to Robert Sheppard at this
time was on the south bank of the James River at Chippokes Creek. [Nugent, p.
584] [Nugen t, Nell Marion, "Cavaliers & Pioneers, Abstracts of Virginia
Land Paten ts and Grants 1623-1666" (1934, Genealogical Publishing Company
reprint 19 69), p. 94] .

17 October 1640: James City Court: "Whereas
Robert Sweat hath begotten with child a negro woman servant (not slave) belonging unto Lieutenant Sheppard, the court hath
therefore ordered that the said negro woman shall be whipt at the whipping post
and the said Sweat shall tomorrow in the forenoon do public penance for his
offence at James City church in the time of divine service according to the laws
of England in that case provided." [Virginia Council and General Court Records
1640-1641, in "Virginia Magazine of History" Vol. II, p. 281] This was a general
law against fornication that applied to all members of the colony.

CHIPPOAKES CREEK TO
BLADEN COUNTY

1754 Governor Dobbs requested reports from the
militia commanders of North Carolina’s counties. The Bladen militia submitted
the following: “Col. Rutherford’s Regimt. of Foot in Bladen County 441, a Troop
of horse 36... Drowning Creek on the Head of Little Peedee, 50 families, a mixt
Crew, a lawless People, filleth the Lands without patent or paying quit rents.
Shot a surveyor for coming to view vacant lands being inclosed in great swamps.
Quakers to attend musters or pay as in the Northern Counties. Fines not high
enough to oblige the militia to attend musters. No arms stores or Indians in the
county.” [Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. V, p161

A number of ethnologists, archeologists, historians, etc., have identified
these 50 mixt families living on Drowning Creek as the ancestors of the Lumbee
Indians. So who was living in Bladen County in 1754? The records show that
these families who would later be called Lumbee, Melungeons, etc., were, in
fact, living on Drowning Creek - Pee Dee River area in 1754.

27 August 1753, John Johnson Jr. entered 100 acres in Bladen County, North
Carolina on the north side of Pugh's marsh whereon John Oxendine was then
living. (Bladen County Land Entries #805). In 1759 , he and two of his sons,
John and Benjamin, lived in the Drowning Creek area of Bladen County,
North Carolina which is the upper part of the Lumbee River area.

Moses Bass was living near "the drains of Drowning Creek" on 1 February 1754 when Robert Carver entered
100 acres there [Philbeck, Bladen County Land Entries, nos. 677, 934]

Thomas Ivey

300 acres on
Drowning Creek where James Roberts formerly lived on 26
September 1755 [Philbeck, Bladen County Land Entries, nos. 974,
1048].

Robert Sweat was granted 100 acres on Wilkerson Swamp
near the Little Pee Dee River on 23 Dec 1754. This land
adjoined the land of Joshua Perkins and was sold to Phillip
Chavis.

Gilbert Sweat Case…21 Aug. 1829…St. Landry’s Parish LA…
Testimony of JoshuaPerkins –GilbertSweat was born about 1756 in what was then
Marion Co. SC on the Pee Dee River. About the year 1777,
Perkins helped Sweat run away with
Francis Smith, the wife of J.B. Taylor. Sweat moved from SC to Tenn, to NC to
Big Black River, Miss. And arrived in LA in 1804.

17 November 1753 Bladen County land which had been
surveyed for Gideon Gibson in North Carolina on the north side
of the Little Pee Dee River was mentioned in a Bladen County land entry
[Philbeck, Land Entries: Bladen County, no. 904].

Fayetteville, North Carolina --- Dec. 2, 1845 -- Extreme Old Age -- A writer
in the Highland Messenger says he had just visited Spencer
Bolton, a resident of Buncombe county, who is now almost one hundred
and ten years of age! He was born (1735) on Big Pee Dee River, in
South Carolina, and is still sound in mind and body. He was in
several skirmishes under Marion in the Rebolutionary war. Has been for 65 years
a member of the Methodist Church. Health generally good. In early life,
principal diet bread, rice, potatoes, and milk; slept on straw beds; generally
up before day-light; and much accustomed to bathe in cold water. To the
influence of these habits he ascribes his long life. Spencer Bolton is
father of Solomon Bolton who was identified as a Portuguese/Melungeon in 1874
court case.

To Be Continued - From the Pee
Dee & Drowning Creek to Newmans' Ridge and Beyond